


talk to me

by greatwonfidence



Category: Asagao Academy: Normal Boots Club
Genre: Crying, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mild Injury, supportive boys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-29
Updated: 2018-07-29
Packaged: 2019-06-18 01:40:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15474678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greatwonfidence/pseuds/greatwonfidence
Summary: Hana chose Jared and it’s been bothering Austin more than it should.





	talk to me

**Author's Note:**

> it was only a matter of time before I started writing about these boys
> 
> I played pbg’s route first and it hurts to betray him by playing other routes....he’s always there giving u sad looks......I’m sorry peebs

“Over here!” Jeff calls out impatiently. His best friend’s voice pulls Austin back and he snaps to attention, kicking the ball blindly. Jeff struggles to gain control of it, but he does after a moment. Austin is grateful they’re simply scrimmaging, that he hasn’t let this bother him so deeply during a real game.

Yet, of course. He really needs to get over this. But when he gets the ball back, he can’t help but picture Jared’s face over it. He kicks it hard again, upward, this time whizzing just past Jeff’s head.

“Whoa! Time, dude!” Jeff yells, making a T with his hands. Austin leans over, hands on his knees, and works on leveling his breath.

“What’s wrong?” he asks.

“What’s wrong?” Jeff mimics, walking towards him with the ball. “You’re playing aggressively, even for you. You’re distracted.”

Austin tries to deny it, but Jeff has a special way of cornering him when he knows he needs it. He can’t bring himself to look into Jeff’s eyes because he knows there’s a soft kind of judgement in them, demanding answer, and he’s just not ready for it.

“Are you going to tell me?” Jeff presses.

“Nothing’s wrong.” Austin insists. He takes the ball from his friend and points across the field. “Let’s run that maneuver again.”

“Peebs, can we please just-“

“We have to practice, Jeff.” Austin pleads silently for Jeff to drop it. And he does for the moment, sighing and jogging to his position.

“Ready,” he calls.

Austin starts moving with the ball and Jeff runs parallel. They work well with each other, balance each other out. In life and on the field. He passes it. Unlike Jared and Hana, who don’t feed well off each other at all. Totally incompatible, he thinks, not paying any attention to the fact that Jeff has kicked the ball back to him.

He half-trips on the ball. His knee gives out under him and his ankle rolls and he crashes onto the ground on his side. Jeff is at his side before the pain even registers.

“Are you okay? I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to-“

“I’m fine!” Austin groans, wavering voice betraying him. “It doesn’t even hurt. I’m fine, let’s keep practicing.”

“No.”

“Jeff, come on. I- _we_ need to be good at this.”

“No, _we_ are done today.” He puts out his hand to help Austin up, but the way his face contorts in pain as soon as he puts weight on that leg tells him he’s not fine. “Let me put my arm here...okay, lean into me.”

“This is so stupid,” Austin grumbles, but he lets Jeff help him walk. To the bench to collect their things, and then all the way to the dorms. He’s a little embarrassed with the looks people are giving them, but nobody says anything.

—

Jeff opens the door to Austin’s single room and blinks in surprise at how messy it is. Not that Austin is usually particularly well put-together, but he usually keeps his living space tidy. The room alone tells him more about what Austin is going through than Austin has. He tries not to let his sight linger on the small collection of tipped-over beer bottles in the corner of the room as he helps his best friend to sit down on the bed, dropping their bags on the floor nearby.

“Sorry for the mess. I haven’t really... wanted to clean it.”

“You mind if I pick a couple things up for you?” Jeff asks. Austin shakes his head and brings his leg up to his chest so he can rub his knee. His eyes follow his friend around the room.

Jeff takes the trash bin from by the door and starts with the beer bottles. Austin doesn’t make any attempt to defend himself and Jeff doesn’t ask him to. He picks up a couple of soda cans and kicks a discarded sweater and pair of slacks toward a bigger pile of what he assumes to be dirty clothes.

“Thank you,” Austin mumbles, so quiet Jeff can barely hear it. He turns to smile at his best friend, tell him of course, anytime, but he quickly notices the shine in Austin’s averted eyes.

“Talk to me, Peebs.” Jeff puts down the trash bin and sits next to him on the bed. He encloses his hand over Austin’s. “What’s bothering you?”

Austin hesitates, gives a few false starts.

“It’s Hana.” he says, finally, visibly struggling not to cry. “She’s... Jared asked her out yesterday. I didn’t even get the chance to ask if she remembers me. She won’t let me.” He sniffles, free hand wiping at his eyes. “There’s always something more important than me going on. It just... it hurts, Jeff. My childhood friend will choose anyone over me.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. I just feel like... like I’m never going to be important enough. Not just to her, to anyone. It’s stupid, I know, but I can’t help but feel like people don’t really need me at all. Like I’m just a side character.”

“Whoa, whoa.” Jeff shakes his head and squeezes Austin’s hand. “Don’t say that, man. You are important. To Normal Boots, to the team, and to me. If Hana can’t see how great you are, how smart and kind and wonderful you are, then that’s her loss, Peebs. Not yours.”

Jeff thinks that if it were anyone else, this moment might feel awkward or strange. But it’s Austin, the most important person in the world; looking into his tear-filled eyes feels more natural than anything else he could be doing. It could feel weird when Austin’s composure breaks and he starts to really cry, unable to hold his hurt back anymore, but it doesn’t; it only stirs up Jeff’s need to help him more. He just holds his best friend close and strokes his back with one hand. He doesn’t pay any mind to the now-damp spot on the shoulder of his jersey.

“I’m sorry,” Austin sobs. Jeff squeezes him tight and pulls back to look him in the eyes again.

“Look at me.” He does. “Don’t be sorry for the way you feel, okay? It’s fine to have feelings, and it’s fine to be upset about things. But you have to talk about what bothers you, you know?” Austin nods. “Can’t bottle things up like that. Especially if you’re gonna be thinking dumb things like ‘nobody cares about me.’ As if that could ever be true.”

Austin chuckles weakly. Jeff smiles and brushes messy hair out of his face, then presses a light kiss to his wet cheek before he has a chance to check the impulse. It feels right, and it brings a giggle out of his best friend.

“Knock it off, Joof.” He laughs.

“It’s making you stop crying.” Jeff leans in again, lips pursed tauntingly, and Austin has to cover his mouth with his hand, still giggling like an idiot.

“While you do have a point,” he admits, “I am cured of the sads for the moment. Thank you.”

Jeff smiles and nods. “Okay. I gotta go jump in the shower now-“

“Wait!” Austin blurts, too quickly. He doesn’t even notice his hand fly out until it‘s locked around Jeff’s wrist. “I-I’m not _that_ cured, actually.”

“Oh? Is there anything else I can do for you, then?”

“You could stay with me.” Austin looks away bashfully. Jeff suppresses the urge to smile amusedly. “We can play games, or watch something, or... uh....”

“You don’t have to convince me.” Jeff grabs his backpack from the floor. “I’m just gonna change. I’ll be right back in a couple minutes. Find a good movie?”

“Yeah,” Austin exhales, audibly relieved. “Yeah, okay.“

He watches Jeff go and close the door behind himself. He reaches up and gently touches the spot where Jeff kissed him, fingertips barely grazing the skin. He smiles to himself, basking in the warmness he feels. He picks up the remote and starts looking for a scary movie - good excuse to cuddle.

**Author's Note:**

> pbg has a single room because I’m electing to ignore jontron’s existence in the asagao universe and the regular universe


End file.
